Rachel's Meningitis Fund

It all started with a headache and neck ache Monday and Tuesday... then Wednesday, February 14th, Rachel woke up at 1am to excruciating pain in her head and neck.  She was taken to the ER by a friend and once there, they did a flu test. The flu test came back negative and they decided to do  a spinal tap. With the results back from the spinal tap we got the diagnoses of meningitis.  She was then admitted into the hospital for "at least two days."  

After more tests it showed us she has bacterial meningitis. We are not sure where she got it from, but she has been on antibiotics since Wednesday morning.  With meningitis there is not a lot that can be done other than pain meds and a lot of antibiotics.  We are still unaware of how long she will need to be in the hospital nor how long she will need to recover. 

Rachel is currently a full-time graduate student at Florida State University and her husband, Ryan, is the tuba professor at Stetson University and Seminole State College.  While they both live in Tallahassee, Ryan has to travel to Central Florida  every Monday-Thursday to teach at his schools. He was unfortunately out of town when Rachel had to be taken to the hospital. 

My name is Caroline Hood, and Rachel is my best friend.  I know that all of you who know Rachel and Ryan can agree with me that they are two of the best human beings on this planet and they both work so incredibly hard. I wanted to be sure they don't need to worry about expenses in this stressful time. These funds will help offset medical expenses, as well as travel and day-to-day costs for Rachel and Ryan.